Fawn
by Mick Howell
Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is...hesitant. Modern!AU
1. Chapter 1

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 1—The Great Chase

* * *

Loras hated hospitals. He hated the smell. He hated how it looked, inside and out. And worst of all, he hated the people inside. The annoying nurses who never stopped pestering you or spoke above a whisper, making any sound louder than a pen dropping you make sound like an avalanche. The doctors who are always either incredibly, nerve-wrackingly vague or gravely blunt and only ever show their masked faces when you're ready to explode with anxiety. And those woeful patients with minor ailments and injuries like broken arms and appendicitis that act like they're dying of the plague and whine like toddlers if the nurse is late with their sponge bath and pudding.

So even on this happy occasion, he couldn't help but sit in the waiting room, shaking one leg so fast it practically vibrated, biting his tongue to prevent himself from asking Renly if they could just go home and come back when it actually happened. She wasn't going to be having the thing for at least another twelve hours according to the nurse who'd swung by not long ago. But Loras held his tongue, because Renly had been smiling like a kid on Christmas Eve for the past six hours and he didn't want to take away his excitement just because he was exceedingly uncomfortable.

But then again, when had he been comfortable in the last few weeks, or even in the months before?

* * *

_A year and a half ago…_

Loras arrived home from work just as he did everyday. Immediately upon stepping through the front door of his and Renly's condo, he'd pried his shoes off and set them by the door, put his coat on the rack, and called out to Renly, who replied he was in the living room just down the hall. Loras strolled into the living room and collapsed onto the couch, his head landing with a soft thud onto Renly's lap. Thankfully, Renly had his laptop balanced on the arm of the couch, saving whatever Renly was typing from Loras' voluptuous head of brown curls.

"How was your day?" Renly sang as hid fingers dances along the keys of his laptop like it was a piano. Loras swore he was playing a tune with the click of each button.

The Tyrell gave a melodramatic sigh, stretching out on the couch and popping a few joints in turn. "The usual. Boring, boring, _boring_. Gods, I hate desk work." He rolled over onto his side and reach for the remote on the coffee table. "How do those desk jockeys handle it?" He wondered aloud. Renly laughed as he started combing one hand absently through Loras' hair.

"You know, you wouldn't have to be a desk jockey in the first place if you didn't deck that thug who called you a faggot." Loras gave his boyfriend a scowl. "What was I _supposed _to do? Just let him insult me like that, _us _like that?" He asked angrily. His irritation melted away as Renly leant down and pecked him on the lips. "No, but you shouldn't have hit him either. You could have gotten in a whole lot worse trouble, Loras. You're lucky that no one else was around to see your fist collide with an already cuffed suspect's nose. Who knows what could have happened. You could have ended up in court facing charges of police brutality. I could have ended up court _defending_ you against charges of police brutality." Loras rolled his eyes. "I'd sooner hire my brother Willas or even Margeary." He said, sitting and flipping around so his feet sat in Renly's lap and his head was cushioned by his favorite green throw pillow.

Renly feigned hurt and put a hand over his heart. "B-but, but why?" He stammered. Loras crossed his arms and turned up his chin. "You work for the big bad oil companies." He answered matter-of-factly. "Yes, the one your father _owns_, Richie Rich." They burst out laughing then.

When they calmed down and Loras gave up on finding anything good on television, he asked a question that had been itching at him—well, not so much itching as tickling—since he got home. "So what are you up to?" His raised an eyebrow when Renly froze. It only lasted a moment, a very brief moment of a literal sixty seconds, but Loras noticed it like he noticed most things about Renly. Easily.

"Just looking at some adds." He muttered, his blue eyes never leaving the screen, which he suspiciously had angled even further out of Loras' view. Loras sat up and crawled towards Renly predatorily. "You're lying to me." He said and Renly seemed to flush ever so slightly before slamming his laptop shut and standing.

"No I'm not." He lied. Loras stood with him, hands on his hips and determination in his eyes. "Yes you are." He said, taking a step towards his boyfriend, who despite being almost a head taller with broader shoulder and bigger muscles, flinched a few steps back. "No. I'm not." Renly lied once again, clutching his laptop probably a little too tightly. Loras lunged for the piece of technology. Renly bolted for the kitchen, and Loras gave chase.

The Tyrell chased the Baratheon around the kitchen island in several dizzying circles, back tracked to try and catch him no less than six times, then run after him back into the living room, around the coffee table, over the couch, into the dining room, around the dinning table and even under hit, back into the living room one more time, and then down the hall, up the staircase, and into their bedroom, where he cornered him. He felt like a triumphant hunter in the forest who'd finally trapped his trophy stag.

Loras locked the door behind him as he entered their room, and then barricaded it with a chair so Renly would have no easy time trying to escape. It wouldn't keep him inside for long, but it'd stall him long enough for Loras to grab that laptop.

Renly stood on their bed, holding the laptop like it was his _precious _(insert creepy little mutant hobbit voice here). Loras smirked up at him. "Renly, love…Give me the laptop." He said sweetly. Renly frowned and raised a dark eyebrow at him. "Really? Asking nicely? You're going to have to try harder than that." He said, sounding bored. Loras grinned at him and shrugged. "Just thought I'd give it a try. Now give me that laptop!" He screamed, jumping up on the bed and tackling Renly. He managed to get the larger man on his back and pry the laptop from his hands, only barely managing to crawl off and away from him without getting caught.

Loras raced into the bathroom with the laptop and locked the door behind him. Renly started banging insistently on the door a second later, pleading with him not to look at what was on the laptop. Loras chuckled as he sat on the toilet and opened it. "Oh come on! It can't be that bad!" He called through the door as the black screen slowly lit back up. "Is it porn? I bet it's porn!" He called jokingly as he watched the page slowly reload. As it did, his grin disappeared turned into a frown. "It's not porn! It's—"

Loras wretched open the bathroom door, gaping like a fish and white as a ghost.

"Adoption Adds!?"

* * *

**A/N: I always found the idea of Renly and Loras having a kid sweet and cute. So I'm writing a fic about it. **

**Please review and follow, read some of my other stories about ASOIAF, and of course, Enjoy this one!**


	2. Chapter 2

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 2—Baby Blues

* * *

"Adoption adds? _Adoption adds!? _Is there something you'd like to share, Renly?!" Loras asked shrilly, pacing back and forth in front of the living room couch, upon which sat Renly. Renly, who no longer looked embarrassed, or guilty, or ashamed. He looked about as irritated as his brother usually did, which was kind of scary Loras would think later on when he calmed down. "I was just browsing. It's not like I was filling out forms behind your back and visiting orphanages." Renly said nonchalantly. Loras took a deep calming breath. "That's not the point." He grounded out. "The point is you didn't bother to tell me 'Oh, hey, Loras, I was thinking, I want to maybe have a kid'! Seriously, Ren, you could have at least hinted at it—I would have picked up on it!" Loras was shouting again.

Renly looked amused at how flustered he was getting. "Really, because your such a master at subtlety?" He drawled sarcastically, standing up from the couch. He rounded the coffee table to wrap his arms around Loras, who stubbornly did not reciprocate the affection, instead crossing his arms and leaning out of the reach of Renly's lips. "Don't try distracting me. We're talking about this now, Ren." Renly rolled his eyes and released him. "Fine. But if we're going to discuss this, can we do it civilly? Preferably with our indoor voices." He asked with the charming smile that Loras couldn't resist, even if he was ticked off beyond belief.

They sat back down on the couch, and Renly opened back up his laptop on the coffee table and reloaded the page he had been looking at. The one that had made Loras' heart stop for one horrifying moment. The page practically glowing pink, plastered with images of newborn, smiling babies, and toddlers adorably covered in dirt from playing, and even pre-teens sitting down with their new parents, eating a family dinner or getting help with their homework. The home page had a message to all potential clients for their services, promising to bring them together with the baby girl or boy of their dreams. It sent Loras' stomach into his left foot.

"Okay so…" Loras began awkwardly. "Can we just start first off with what sparked this sudden desire to have kids?" Renly and Loras had been dating since university, when Ren had been twenty-one and Loras seventeen, and now they had been together for five years. In the half-decade they'd been together, never had Renly ever mentioned a desire to have children, nor had Loras. If fact, now that Loras thought about it, it was odd _he _wasn't the one looking up adoption adds behind_ Renly's _back. Loras was the one with the tight-knit, loving family who invited them over to dinner every Sunday and whom they spent their holidays with (willingly). Renly was the one with no parents to speak of growing up, two older brothers who either just don't care or straight up disliked him, and sister-in-laws and a nephew from the bowels of Hell.

Renly shrugged. "I sort of always have." He said, and Loras felt a sudden rush guilt for not knowing that and had the urge to embrace his boyfriend and apologize. He restrained himself. Renly clearly had more to say. "It's not like I've always had babies on the brain or anything, don't get me wrong. It's not like a life's dream of mine to change dirty diapers, chauffer someone covered in mud and snot back and forth between school, home, and soccer games, and pay a fortune for them to get wasted every weekend at university. It's just been one of those things that when I thought of myself ten, twenty years down the line, was just there. A little boy or girl calling me Dad, begging for a puppy for Christmas or pocket money to buy some candy—in my worst nightmares, a teenager I have to watch the same mistakes I made when I was there age, like start smoking and getting hammered before their even old enough to drive." The more Renly talked about it, the more Loras felt bad about yelling earlier. Renly sounded so sincere and the look in his eyes when he described that future…Loras couldn't help but lean over to hug him and give him a kiss.

When they parted, Loras tried his best to put up a stern front. "That was not a yes, just so you know!" He warned. Renly laughed and nodded. "I figured. You aren't exactly submissive, especially to just some words." He said, and Loras smirked proudly. "You know me so well," He said, reclining against his favorite green throw pillow.

"So…what brought this up now, though?" Loras asked after a pause. "Or have you been secretly "browsing" the internet for a little orphan Annie or Oliver Twist to take in for years?" He added jokingly, though deep down he worried that Renly may very well have been. Thankfully, Renly laughed at the remark. "Gods, no! Like I said, parenthood had always been something I saw ten or so years down the line for me…" He looked uncomfortably off to the side. "Until now." Loras raised an eyebrow.

"Why now?" Loras asked curiously.

"Well…It kind of has to do with…everyone else." Renly answered uneasily. Loras' jaw fell slightly in disbelief and he gave Renly a look. "Everyone else? What, are babies this seasons hottest new accessory?" He asked. "Kind of, yeah." Renly replied. "Just think about it. Everyone we know who's been in a relationship a while, married or not, seems to be popping them out like they're going out of style. Brienne just went on maternity leave at work, right? And my paralegal, Sansa, she's pregnant by her boyfriend. Not to mention Sansa's little sister, Arya, my nephew's girl, just had her little girl. Mya, my niece and her husband just had a little boy. Your brother and his wife are expecting their second child, and Willas and his wife are trying. Not to mention Margeary's apparently 'done with men' and has mentioned more than once her intentions of visiting a sperm bank when she desires a bouncing baby boy or girl of her own. Look around, Loras, there's a baby-boom happening in Westeros city."

As uncomfortable as it was, Loras had to admit, the frequency at which their friends, family, and co-workers were reproducing was…astounding to say the least. And the more he thought about, the more Loras realized how left out he and Renly would be. While their families were adding new members to the brood, they'd been stuck the cool gay uncles that would sit at family dinners with everyone else, awkwardly listening to conversations about late nights, parent-teacher conferences, and separation-anxiety that they would never quite understand.

It was an isolating thought.

But not isolating enough that Loras suddenly wanted to go out and buy plane tickets to China.

But the look in Renly's eyes. Thos beautiful, big, baby blue eyes that were silently begging him to at least not be fully apposed to the idea. Loras nearly cracked under the pressure, and had to look away, up at the white ceiling of their condo.

Oh yeah…They lived in a condo. It suddenly struck Loras of how impractical a condo was for child-rearing. They had neighbors. Rich, childless neighbors who were either too old for them or too young to be thinking about them. Just like Loras.

Loras was only twenty-two. Twenty-two with an entire career in law enforcement ahead of him.

Oh Gods…he was a cop. A cop who dealt with violent individuals, armed and unarmed alike, dangerous people almost everyday. He would spend the next thirty or so years, or even longer, with his live in potential danger every time he got called out to some noise compliant of the lower east side or domestic abuse compliant up north.

Gods, just the thought had him wondering why Brienne and Jaime decided to have kids, or how any cops did for that matter. What if something happened to him? What about Renly and the poor kids—Loras had to shove that thought out of his head. He had a hard enough time just wondering what would happen to Renly if something happened to him in the line of duty, let alone a little boy or girl.

Suddenly, a worse thought struck his mind. Renly was a high profile lawyer for a big oil company. Images of snipers and car bombs plagued his mind for one horrible moment. Loras nearly burst into a fit of tears, but held them in.

Loras didn't know what he'd do without Renly, let alone without Renly and with a kid to raise all on his own…

With all these grim images in his head, Loras nearly flat out rejected any ideas of having children right then and there. But as he sat up, he was once again met with Renly's hopeful baby blue eyes. All protests died on his tongue, except for one.

"I'm not saying yes…but I'm not saying no either. We'll…" He struggled with the words. "Think it over. Together, this time." He added warningly. Renly smiled and nodded his head. "Of course."

It was when Renly went into the kitchen to start dinner, and Loras was left to stare at the laptop on the coffee table and its images of children and parenthood that he realized the gravity of this situation. He had officially opened the door for something he wasn't quite sure he was ready for.

* * *

**A/N: Chappy Number 2! YAY!**

**Hope you all enjoy it—I'm hoping to up date this everyday, so keep an eye out for this one—or follow it! Your choice!**

**Please Review and check out my other works!**


	3. Chapter 3

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 3—Marijuana Wisdom

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"So, wait. You and Renly are going to adopt?" Margeary asked. Loras let out an exhausted sigh. "_No_, we're going to _thinking _about it." He protested, and Margeary giggled. "Sounds like Ren is doing more than thinking. But seriously, Loras, how did this not come up until now?" She asked as she sipped as her latte. Loras wrinkled his nose at it. He used to like caramel abominations like the one Margeary was drinking, too. But then he became a cop and learned of the splendor of black coffee. It really helped on late nights and early mornings.

Loras shrugged as he sipped at his own drink. "I don't know. I mean, when he got together in college, I figured we wouldn't last too long because…that's what everyone says. High school sweethearts and college loves usually don't last. But…then I fell in love with him," Margeary gave a dreamy sigh. Loras smiled to himself and rolled his eyes playfully at her. "What about these last few years, though?" Margeary asked curiously. "You two have been out of university for a couple years now." She pointed out. Loras shrugged sheepishly and went to sip at his coffee, only to find it empty.

"It…it just didn't, okay? Excuse me." Before Margeary could say anything else to make him feel even guiltier about not knowing Renly wanted kids, he was up and out of seat, heading towards the counter at the front of the café. There he found a familiar face. "Hey, aren't you that Reed kid? The one who hangs out with the Stark boy." Loras asked. The teen looked up, his green eyes suspiciously dilated. "That would be me. Though I'd prefer to be called Jojen. May I take your order?" He said in a faraway voice. Loras wondered if he should just walk away, seeing as the kid may possibly have been high as a kite and in no state to operate a coffeemaker, but then he remembered Margeary was back at their table, ready to pounce. He needed to buy his time until something popped up to distract her.

He ordered the most complicated thing he could think of, which would hopefully take awhile considering Jojen's state, and leant against the counter to wait.

To his surprise, Jojen was a scarily efficient barista, even while high as an airliner. Within a few minutes, his order was sitting on the counter before him, Jojen was racking up the charge on the cash register, and Margeary was still watching him from across the café. Loras sighed, said a silent prayer to the Gods to please have someone, somewhere in Westeros City something scandalous enough to warrant a text to Margeary, and smiled at Jojen.

"Is it true you're like a new age hippy witch doctor?" He asked, feigning curiosity. Jojen looked at him, as if looking right through him. "No. I just believe in herbal remedies and energy therapy. A witch doctor believes stuff like voodoo and shrunken heads—funky stuff." Jojen explained as he and Loras exchanged payment for the coffee. Loras took his first sip of it during the pause where Jojen was sort the change into their proper compartments in the tray. He nearly gagged on the sweetness, but he hid it with a smile at Jojen. "Yum," He forced out, and Jojen frowned at him.

"Ya know I could lend you some herbs. Something to calm your nerves and help you think more clearly." Loras frowned. "What makes you think I need to think more clearly?" He asked wearily. Jojen stared at him blankly.

"It's clear by your energy that you're carrying a lot of tension around. You also seem to be feeling guilty about something." Then Jojen paused and squinted his eyes at him, as if trying to see something really small. Like a speck on Loras' shirt. "And self-doubt." Loras stared at the Reed boy with astonishment. His voice was failing him… "L…Lucky guess." He finally managed, feeling his face turning red. Jojen opened to say something else, but before he could, Loras turned on his heel and fled back to his and Margeary's table.

"Were you talking to the Reed boy?" She asked as he sat back down. "How do you know him?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as she sipped her latte. Both eyebrows raised in surprise when she saw his drink. "And what is _that_?" She asked, wrinkling her nose. Loras sighed and pushed it away from him, towards the center of the table.

"I have no idea." Was all he said, and before Margeary could even open her mouth to say something, her phone started ringing.

It was her friend Sansa, and the rest of his and Margeary's get-together was spent gushing with Sansa on speaker-phone about her baby, which she and her boyfriend just found out was a boy.

* * *

Loras came back to the café the next day after work, with every intention of ordering a black coffee and a Danish, and leaving. Instead, he ended up sitting at a table in the back, talking to Jojen, who was on break. Loras eyed the weird paste he was eating, but said nothing about it. He simply asked one question, "Am I really that obvious?" Jojen looked up from spreading that weird paste on a wheat cracker, looking actually surprised. "No." He said simply. "But anyone in tune with the energy of others could sense it. I noticed the moment you entered the café yesterday. Something is weighing heavily on you lately, isn't it?" Loras stubbornly kept his eyes on the window beside them. Sadly for him, in the tree outside was a bird's nest…a bird's nest filled with an adorable family of baby birds with their mama.

He groaned and once again faced Jojen.

"My boyfriend…he wants kids, to adopt…like _now_…but I'm just…not sure." He admitted. Jojen nodded understandingly. "Parenthood can be foreboding." Loras nearly rolled his eyes. Jojen was a teenager, there was no way he understood the gravity of the situation. Unless… "Do you have a kid?" Loras asked with a raised eyebrow. Jojen shook his head. "No, but I can see in those who do how much it can weigh on a person." Jojen reached across the table and put a hand on Loras' shoulder, surprising the Tyrell. "Stop thinking that you're a bad person for not feeling ready. No one does. In time, you'll know what you want, and you'll be able to make the right decision." Jojen said, sounding wiser than his eighteen years. Loras could only nod, thank the boy, get up, and leave the café, feeling kind of better than he did going in.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked it! I always did want to see some Jojen-Tyrell interaction. I always thought it'd be interesting. **

**I'll update again tomorrow. Enjoy and review please! **


	4. Chapter 4

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 4—Taking a Chance

* * *

Months after his conversation with Jojen Reed, Loras still wasn't exactly sure of what the right decision Jojen spoke of was. He felt better about some things, like if he would be a good parent in the first place or how he'd ever adjust to parenthood even though he was so young, but other things still weighed on him.

Like his worries about his being a cop and everything.

Loras' stomach twisted at the very thought of something happening to him and leaving Renly and some poor kid all alone. He felt even worse thinking about what could happen if something happened to Renly.

He said as much to Renly those few times that they had spoken about it over dinner or late at night while getting ready for bed. Renly, however, despite Loras' many arguments against having kids, was still vehemently Team Adoption. He tried more than once to talk Loras out of his many worries, but failed time and time again. It got to the point that Renly started accusing him of just being stubborn, especially after Loras confessed his fears about being cop and having children. "Now you're just making excuses!" Renly had said with a roll of his eyes as he loaded the dishwasher. "Tons of cops have kids. _Most_ of them have kids. Just look at Brienne and Jaime." When Loras had argued back that not only was he a cop, but Renly was a lawyer for a company whose executives had more than once been the target of assassination and/or conspiracy, Renly seemed to have had his comeback at the ready. "Look at Sansa and Podrick, my paralegal and one of your brothers in blue, expecting the first of many children, I'm sure. Are they freaking out like you?" Renly asked, and all Loras could do was put down the glass he was holding before he could throw it at the wall in frustration, and leave the room.

The next day at work, as Loras put on his coat and got ready to go home, he couldn't help but think about what Renly said. He looked around at his fellow officers' desks and inside locker doors, saw pictures of babies freshly brought home from the hospital, little girls and boys' first school pictures, and even graduation photos. Despite himself, he felt a little jealous, for while his own desk was overflowing with not only paperwork, but pictures of his siblings, parents, his nephew, and Renly, he wondered if he'd ever have a picture in his wallet of a little boy or girl to shove in people's faces as he gushed over how big they were getting and how smart or athletic his kid was.

_His kid_…Loras shivered at the thought. He didn't know if it was a good shiver or a bad shiver.

"Hey, Pod!" Loras called as he exited the building. Ahead of him, weighed down by a thick, ugly purple coat and red scarf, was Podrick Payne. The dark haired young man turned and looked at him with surprise. "Officer Loras?" He whispered shyly, his eyes going right back to his feet, where they usually were when the young officer was off duty. Loras rolled his eyes as he caught up with him, and clapped him on the back. "Congratulations!" He said with a grin. Podrick looked up at him, confused. "About what—oh! You mean the baby. My baby. Mine and Sansa's baby." Loras couldn't help but chuckle at the alarming shade of red Podrick was turning. "I heard it was a boy. Congrats, really." He said, and Podrick smiled thankfully. "Thank you, Officer Loras."

The two walked a moment in silence before Loras uttered the question that had been bugging him. "Are you scared?" He asked. "I mean, being a cop and all, and having a kid. Don't you worry about them, if something were to happen to you, to Sansa?" Podrick looked up from his feet and looked at him. The younger man smiled sheepishly. "I'm actually terrified. About being a father, I mean. And being a cop. And Sansa being a lawyer. So many bad, bad things could happen." He said, his eyes once again going to his feet. Loras looked at him with surprise. "Then why have kids at all?" He asked.

Podrick halted suddenly. Loras looked at him with confusion.

"Because…it's worth it. Having a kid is worth it, I think." Podrick said, staring at his feet. Loras could just barely see a smile on his face. "Those smiles on Sansa's face when she looks at the sonogram. Those jibes from her brothers about how with my luck I'll end up with a motor mouth kid. My mom coming back into my life, if only for her grandchild. I wouldn't give any of that up, or my son, for anything…even my own life. This much happiness…" Podrick looked up at him, smiling. "It's worth it. It's worth being so afraid all the time."

Loras didn't know really what to say. Except maybe thank you.

His phone started ringing in his pocket suddenly. "I'm sorry," He whispered to Podrick as he pulled it out. Podrick nodded and his dark eyes went back to his feet.

"Hello?" Loras said. "Loras!" Renly's voice shouted on the other end, sounding frantic. "Ren? What's wrong? You sound anxious." He asked worriedly. "I'm fine! I'm fine! But Sansa—you're at work, aren't you?!" Renly shouted. Loras' eyes darted worriedly to Podrick. "Hold up, what's wrong with Sansa?" He asked, and Podrick's eyes were immediately on him and full of fear.

"Sansa is in labor!" Renly shouted.

* * *

Twenty-four hours later, Loras and Renly sat in their favorite coffee shop with Margeary. Under the table, Loras and Renly held hands. Above the table, they made no comment about the bags under Margeary's eyes.

Margeary spent the better part of their get-together prattling on how she'd spent the better part of last night in a hospital waiting room along with most of Sansa and Podrick's family and friends, waiting on news about the baby. The nurses had ran them all out a little after midnight, and Margeary had planned to go back this morning, but one of her clients had called her and practically forced her to attend an impromptu meeting with them that last nearly all day. By the time it was over, Sansa had already had her baby and according to Podrick, was in no mood for visitors.

"I should have been there!" Margeary protested as she took a sip at her latte and ran an aggravated hand through her long brown locks. "But _no_~! That Braavosi bitch couldn't wait for my input on what color scheme to do her bathroom in!" Loras and Renly nodded wordlessly in agreement, knowing their place. Margeary could be just a _bit _bitchy without her eight hours.

"I swear, for making miss the birth of my Godson, I'll give that woman the ugliest bathroom Westeros has ever seen!" Margeary seethed, taking a large gulp of latte. She slammed the cup so hard on the table when he phone buzzed, that froth splattered and hit both Renly and Loras on the face. As Margeary went to answer her latest text, the two looked at each other with smirks and grins.

Loras reached out and wiped some froth off Renly's cheek and licked it off his finger. Renly rolled his eyes and reached for a napkin and started wiping them both off. Loras chuckled.

"Oh. My. Gods!" Margeary gasped. Loras and Renly's head snapped back in her direction, expecting her to be about to flip a table over something her most recent client from Hell had done. Instead, she was smiling so widely it made Loras' cheeks hurt and had a dreamy look in her eye as she stared down at her phone, cooing. She looked so sweet, Loras thought fondly.

"Margy," Renly said gently. "What is it?" He asked. Margeary suddenly sprang from her seat and rounded the table so she stood between Loras and Renly's seats. She bent down and held the phone out for all to see.

Renly grinned widely as the screen and Loras' mouth fell slightly open with awe.

On the screen was a text from Sansa. A picture.

It was of Podrick, sitting in a recliner in the corner of a dimly lit hospital room, a little white bundle in his arms, smiling down and looking at it with so much love, Loras could feel it just looking at the picture.

Suddenly, a second message popped up.

_We named him Alyster Edwyn Payne._

Then a third text arrived, a close up of the new baby. Little Alyster was sleeping soundly in someone's arms, a tuff of red hair on his head and smiling just barely in his sleep. Loras felt his heart warm.

* * *

**A/N: Here you go!**

**I just love Sansa/Pod—my OTP for Sansa!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review, follow, or simply enjoy the fic!**


	5. Chapter 5

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 5—The Unlucky Ones

* * *

Finally, after nearly six months on desk duty, Captain Selmy let Loras back out onto the streets. The Tyrell had never been so relieved as he sank into the passenger side seat of his and Podrick's squad cruiser. What a wonderful way to start the spring.

He said as much to Podrick, who was…very tired looking.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" He asked concernedly as he watched Pod start the car with a yawn. Pod shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine—" He yawned so loud it was like watching a lion roar. "Just…Alyster keeps us up at night. Me and Sansa. With the…crying, ya know?" Actually, Loras didn't know. He wasn't a parent—_yet_, he could almost hear Renly add with a teasing smile—and even as an uncle, he had never been subjected to the dreaded purple crying. All he knew was that babies spent a few months crying inconsolably between their second and sixth months alive. Loras could still remember those odd Sunday dinners where Garlan would just pass out into his mashed potatoes due to exhaustion.

Just another thing that made Loras fearful of parenthood.

"Come on," Loras said, shoving gently at Pod's shoulder. "I'll drive. You catch a few 'z's while you can." Pod looked about to protest, but Loras crossed his arms and gave him a look that said he wouldn't relent on this. And everyone knew how stubborn Loras could be…They switched seats and Loras took just a bit of satisfaction in being able to drive his cruiser for the first time in months, and seeing Podrick practically pass out in the passenger seat.

He drove them to their usual spot where they waited for calls. An alley way on the lower west side of town, right around where Loras grew up actually. From the alley, he could see several shops he and his siblings used to stop by on their way home from their stuffy private school—the one they attended and loved before their Dad shoved him and Margeary into Crownland Conservatory on the lower East side near City Hall—like the arcade he and Garlan loved, the gross vegan grocery Margeary used to frequent, and Willas' favorite old book store that smelled like mildew.

Loras spotted his old favorite café, too, and even ran over and got himself and Pod some coffees.

After maybe an hour, Pod finally jolted awake. "I'm sorry," He mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "I just meant to rest my eyes a moment." He said. His dark eyes seemed to immediately find the hot coffee sitting in his cup holder. He looked at Loras questioningly. "For you," Loras said, and Pod picked up the white cup, smiling thankfully. They sat in silence, sipping at their coffee for a long time before Pod asked, "Any calls while I was asleep?" Loras rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, there was a bank robbery, a gang war, and the mayor was assassinated." Podrick flushed bright red, and Loras laughed and clapped him on the back. "Nothing, man. I've just been here, thinking, and you, snoozing." He said, and Podrick seemed to fade a few shades.

"Need more sleep?" Loras questioned when Pod gave another yawn, but he shook his head and took a big gulp of his coffee. He seemed to regret it considering after he swallowed he let out harsh pant and he turned slightly red again. "Well, by the looks of it, those future brother-in-laws of yours may be right. Alyster must be very loud." Loras said with a chuckle. Podrick shook his head and smiled sheepishly. "He's only loud when he wants something—usually food. Other than that, he hardly makes a peep." He said. Loras noticed how fondly Pod smiled then, honestly not seeming to mind that his son had drastically reduced how much sleep he was getting.

"Really? Because my nephew used to cry and cry when he was a baby. It wasn't until he was about one that every time I saw him he wasn't screaming his lungs out and that was only because he learned how to talk. He'd such a little chatterbox…" Loras gave a melodramatic sigh. "But I love him. And don't get me started on Renly's nieces and nephews and their growing broods." Podrick looked at him with surprise. "Renly's a great-uncle? But he'd only…twenty-five?" Podrick ventured. "Twenty-six, and yeah, he's young, but I'd blame his brother Robert for that. Gods, Baratheons breed young." Loras laughed.

"Oh, that reminds me," Podrick said suddenly. "Sansa mentioned Renly and you were talking about adoption. Is that why you were talking to me that day? The day Sansa went into labor. About…you know, being scared." He asked, curiously. Loras nearly choked on his Danish. He managed to swallow it and took a sip of coffee to wash it down. "Um, well…we're talking, yes. Nothing serious." He explained uneasily, but Podrick looked at him with a raised eyebrow that made the shy young man actually look a bit knowing. It was awfully out of character, Loras thought.

"Renly wants kids…" Pod began evenly. "But you…don't?" He said questioningly. Loras could only shrug, as he usually did nowadays in response to most questions about his and Renly's adoption debate. Ever since his family found out a few weeks ago via Margeary over Sunday dinner, there had yet to be an occasion where he saw a member of his family, extended or otherwise, without being asked about it.

"I just…I'm not totally against it. But at the same time, I have some…concerns."

"Like?" Pod asked. Loras again shrugged. "At the moment, one of the greatest is the whole adoption process. I've heard about how hard to can be for straight couples to qualify—gay couples have it especially hard."

Pod nodded understandingly, but then said, "But that doesn't mean they don't qualify. Sansa's brother and his partner just adopted a baby girl from Essos, and also won custody of Theon's bastard son from a one night stand a few years back. If they can get two kids through the system, so can you and Renly."

Loras took a contemplative sip of his quickly dwindling and cooling coffee.

Maybe the system did work…sometimes. Loras may have been a cop, but he had heard stories about the legal system failing people—plenty—and he even knew gay couples that had been stiffed on adoption. Most just went with IVF and surrogates because the city tended to favor straight married couples rather than gay life-partners as potential parents for unwanted children.

Loras wasn't even sure he wanted kids just yet, and he still felt cheated because he knew if he did want a kid as bad Renly, the two of them would still have a rough time competing with other couples for a single baby girl or boy.

Suddenly, the radio buzzed.

* * *

They arrived at a brown stone in the Oldtown borough. Loras couldn't help but wrinkle his nose a bit at the bed sheet curtains hanging in the windows and the countless cigarette butts lying on the sidewalk in front of the stoop. Inside, he could hear screaming children, crashing, and a raspy voice and youthful teenage voice yelling at one another.

Loras hated calls about domestic disputes.

He and Podrick climbed the steps and knocked on the burgundy red door. A moment later, it was wretched open and the smell of pure skank hit Loras' nostrils. He kept it cool though. It wasn't the worst thing he'd smelled on the job, and there was no reason to hold it against the people who lived there.

"Who are you?" An overweight woman asked, dressed in a dirty T-shirt and pajama shorts too short for her. "Hello, ma'am. We received complaints of a domestic dispute in this residence. You were making quite a bit of noise apparently." Loras began with a tip of cap. The woman looked less than impressed with him and simply took a hit off her cigarette. "Ain't no domestic dispute happening here. Just a mother talking sense into her daughter." She said, blowing her smoke right into poor Podrick's face. His fellow officer coughed up a storm and took a step backwards, away from the woman. "And where is your daughter?" Loras asked.

"Right here!" A voice came from behind the woman. A girl not much younger than him shoved past the woman, in tears, and very, very pregnant. "And this is more than a mother-daughter argument! This bitch is trying to force me to keep my baby!" Okay, that was a new one. Loras usually heard a total reverse argument, where the girl wanted the baby and the mom wanted her to give it up through one of the big 'A' words.

"Okay, Miss, Ma'am, may we step inside and discuss this?" Loras asked, feeling that their was now a good reason they were here besides noise complaints. The girl smiled thankfully and dragged both him and Pod inside, despite the woman's protests.

She led them into a living room with a decent, but obviously used couch, and a TV from about ten years ago blaring cartoons as a younger teenage girl and three boys, all no older than ten, sat on the floor, watching. "Rosie, Will, Mavis, Jon," The girl said to the kids. "Go into the kitchen and get some snacks. The adults need to talk alone now." The kids nodded and scampered off, but the younger girl paused at the door and sent the older one, presumably her elder sister, a worried look. Loras saw the older girl give her a reassuring nod before easing herself down onto the couch and patting the space beside her.

"Take a seat." She said with a smile. Loras nearly cringed at the braces. No girl with braces should be about to have a baby any day seemingly, he thought. He and Podrick sat down next to the girl, while her mother flopped back into a recliner across the room.

"So," Loras cleared his throat. "What seems to be the problem here?" He asked. The girl's expression turned incredibly dark and she glared at the fat woman in the recliner. "That woman will not let me give my baby up for adoption! She says that because I'm under eighteen she can make me keep it—that's not true, is it? Please don't let her do this to me and my baby! She'll ruin both our lives!" The girl pleaded, grabbing Loras' arm with desperation. Loras' hand covered hers and he gently pried her off. "Easy there, Miss. And no, she can't make you. It's your body. Your baby. You can do whatever you feel is right for the both of you and your mother can say nothing about it." The girl let out a sigh of relief and sent her mother a smug look.

"How do you like that? Looks like you won't be getting that extra check a month after all!" She sneered, and the woman got up and stomped out of the room. Loras swore he saw furniture shake as she went.

"Extra check?" Podrick asked confusedly. The girl nodded. "She's a greedy bitch, she is. Wants me to have this baby just so she can get more money from welfare each month—that's her theory at least. Dumb skank didn't even bother to check if an extra mouth to feed would actually bring more money in, just assumed, and replaced my birth control with sugar pills." The girl slumped against the couch. "These last eight months have been the worst of my life. My boyfriend broke up with me when I got pregnant, then Mother Dearest wouldn't let me get an abortion, and when I started talking to a social worker about adopting my daughter out, she totally blew her lid!" The girl sighed heavily. "As soon as this kid is born, I swear I'm taking my little brothers and sister and high tailing out of here…south maybe."

"Why do you want to give your son up?" Loras asked. "Usually girls your age are…" He struggled for a polite term. "Stupid." She snorted a weak laugh. "I want my baby to have a good life. We're better off without each other." She smiled then. "I found the perfect couple…they live up on the Upper East Side. Rich, good people. She'll be happy with them." Podrick cleared his throat.

"Do you…need us to call a social worker? We could get you and your siblings out of here…at least for tonight." He said shyly, and the girl smiled and shook her head.

"No….we'll be fine."

She escorted them to the door, and waved goodbye as they climbed into their cruiser. On the way back to the alley, Loras thought about all the babies out there…all the kids…and who deserved better than what he had seen back there.

* * *

**A/N: Ya know, I'm sad to say that some of the skankiness described in this chapter is stuff I've witnessed first hand around my own small town. It's really sad. **

**Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Review, follow, and check out my other stories if you may!**

**See ya tomorrow! Oh, and Happy New Years! **


	6. Chapter 6

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 6—And So The It Begins…

* * *

Six months after finding the adoption adds on Renly's computer, Loras finally concedes defeat. He swears he had never seen Renly smile so wide for anything.

"Are you serious?" Renly asked excitedly after dropping his fork in surprise at Loras' words. "Are you sure?" Loras simply nods, not trusting to take it all back if he opened his mouth.

Despite everything, he's still afraid of parenthood, not that Renly needed to know that. Looking at his boyfriend, seeing him so happy, Loras knew he would feel like a monster if he took it all back. He'd be a dream-crushing monster. He'd be_ Joffrey. _

So Loras kept his mouth shut throughout the remainder of the meal, smiling and nodding at everything Renly said, covering his sudden mutism by always having food in his mouth and taking long drinks of water from his glass. He listened to Renly list off things that would need to be done now that they planned on having kids. One being contact a social worker or adoption agency, another being find a house or apartment with more space, and of course telling their families.

* * *

At the next Tyrell Sunday dinner, Loras took an Advil in the bathroom just before dinner was brought out. He exited the bathroom to find Renly outside in the hall waiting for him with a serious expression. "Are you certain you want this?" He asked. Loras hesitated a moment before nodding his head. Renly noticed. "Loras," He whispered, striding towards him and rest both his hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to do this for me. I mean, I know you have your reservations and I'm okay with that. We don't have to do this now—maybe in a few years we could—" Loras silenced him with a quick peck on the lips. "I'm fine, Ren. I can do this." He said determinedly, and for the first time in awhile, he felt confident. Wow, that Advil was fast-acting!

Renly didn't look quite convinced, but he nodded nonetheless and the two of them journeyed downstairs and into the dinning room, hand-in-hand.

Everyone was already seated. Loras' father sat at one end of the long rectangular table, mother on his left, his sisters on his right. Next to Mom were Willas and his wife, who was sporting a tiny bump, next to her was Garlan's wife, who was separated from her husband by a little ball of energy named Jack. Margeary sat next to Grandmother Olenna. Two seats, the ones across from Marg and Garlan, were the only ones left open.

Loras and Renly sat themselves down quietly. A moment later, the maids came out with the first course.

Three courses and two bottles of Dornish Red later, desert was served. Loras tapped his foot and shook his leg under the table anxiously. He had left the breaking of the news to Renly, but his boyfriend had yet to even attempt it. He was completely absorbed in a conversation about the newest fashion trends from Essos with Margeary. Loras gave him a sideways glare, knowing what he was playing at.

He wanted Loras to announce it.

"Something wrong, _Lory_?" Garlan asked from across the table, chewing at a strip of bacon. Loras really didn't understand how anyone could think bacon and ice cream was a good conversation. It sounded like a recipe for diabetes and/or heart disease. "_Nothing, GarGar." _Loras replied. Garlan rolled his eyes and laughed at him. "Seriously, the table is shaking. What's wrong?" Garlan asked with genuine concern. Loras sighed. Best get it over with, he thought. "Just…I'm nervous." He began. Garlan's wife Leonette raises an eyebrow with curiosity. "About what?" She asks as she wipes some ice cream from her son's face.

Loras took a deep breath and stood up. "Everyone," He called and the table hushed. "Renly and I are…going to adopt." A split second of silence passed before the Tyrell family exploded like a nuclear bomb of love. Everyone, save for Olenna and Jack of course who couldn't care less, hopped to their feet, all smiles and congratulations pouring out of their mouths. Within a few minutes, Loras' back hurt from being patted by his brother Garlan.

Like a tide, his family pulled him and Renly into the living room where they sat them down on a couch. For the next three hours, Loras sat with his family discussing things like whether he wanted a son or daughter, what names he liked, and how deep in the process they were so far. He didn't realize until he climbed into the car with Renly late that evening that his cheeks hurt from smiling.

* * *

Their first meeting with the adoption counselor was in their own home. Her name was Ashara Dayne. She was Dornish, she was beautiful, and she was charming. No wonder Captain Barristan had been in love with her.

She knocked on their door at noon on a Saturday, almost a week after Loras and Renly had told his family about their plans (they'd told Renly's family through a very curt email—the only reply they got was from Renly's nieces Shireen and Myrcella saying congrats and how excited they were to have a new cousin). Loras had been the one to answer the door and escort her into the living room. She sat down on the couch next to Renly and sat a file on the coffee table.

"It's best we just get started with the basics. One being, introductions. Hello, I'm Ashara Dayne, but you must have already known that." She said, sticking out a hand for them to shake. They did already know that. She was the owner and founder of the adoption agency they were using. "I've been working to put children in loving homes for twenty plus years, since I wasn't much older than you actually." She continued, smiling at Loras. "And you two are the infamous Loras Tyrell and Renly Baratheon." Renly raised an eyebrow. "Infamous?" He asked.

Ashara waved a dismissive hand. "You are Robert's younger brother, correct? I knew him as a girl. Dated his best friend for a little bit." Suddenly, realization dawned on Renly's expression. "You're Ned Stark's ex!" He exclaimed, and Ashara smiled and nodded. "That I am."

"But enough about me," She said. "Let's focus on you two. Specifically, details."

"Details?" Loras asked nervously. Ashara nodded. "Your line of work, your hobbies, ties to the community, etcetera. Things we can show to the birth mothers when they start looking for the best parents for the baby." Loras nearly rolled his eyes. "So we're going to be, like, put in a catalogue like a cake or piece of clothing?" He asked, and sadly for him, Ashara nodded.

"I know it's demeaning, but think of the mothers. They want to be able to have the piece of mind that the people they're giving their child to are people she trusts to raise her child right." Ashara said, patting him gently on the back. "Now," She said, flipping open the file on the table and pulling out a pen seemingly from thin air. "Let's get started."

* * *

The first house they checked out was a brownstone on the lower East side in a great neighborhood. Their realtor showed them around, pointed out the craftsmanship in the woodwork and the character in the creaking floorboards. Loras had to admit…he liked it. A lot. He liked the fact that nothing was in need of being renovated, that the walls in the living room were the same exact shade of green as his favorite throw pillow, and that their was a backyard, small as if may be, where he might actually be able to plant a small garden. He always wanted a garden.

When he was little, his mom had helped him and Margeary plant a vegetable garden in their backyard with seeds given to them by their grade school teacher. They planted lettuce, carrots, and peppers, and tomatoes too, and even potatoes and squash. He and Margeary had kept that garden into their teens, but then it fell into disarray when they went off to university. Loras hadn't had a garden since.

Sadly, the brownstone had a dark side. That dark side being the black mold they found in the basement and rat droppings under the kitchen sink.

* * *

The second and third houses their realtor showed them were literally right next door to each other. They were in a small suburb in the Riverlands borough. They were very…American Dream. White picket fence and everything. They were even in a cul-de-sac, in a neighborhood with sprinklers running and dogs parking, and kids playing baseball in one another's yards.

It made Loras afraid. Very, very afraid.

So he jumped on the first faults he found in the houses the realtor showed them. The first one, a big blue house with not enough storage space and some problems with the foundation, was easy to steer Renly away from. The second one, however, a pure white house that was virtually perfect in everyway except for being located in suburgatory, was hard for even Loras to find fault in.

Until, of course, they met the neighbors…

Loras and Renly were not taken with the Frey's, to say the least.

* * *

Five houses and seven apartment complexes later, they found it…

It was a brownstone on the lower east side like the first one they check out, but with no rats or mold, and with Brienne (and Jaime, but that wasn't really a plus) right next door, a gym just a few blocks away, not far from Loras' family (nor Renly's, but that wasn't really a plus either), or either of their jobs, and a park near by.

It was perfect.

The only problem was the bidding war that ensued for the property. It was back and forth for weeks. Raising and lowering stakes, cursing every time the other guy made a better offer to the owner. Loras prayed for the man's demise no less than twenty times in the month and a half it look him and Renly to finally lost the bid.

Loras gave that smug snake Oberyn Martell the middle finger the next time they saw each other.

* * *

In the end, they found a nice ground floor apartment not to faraway from the brownstone—that Loras would never admit he would be bitter about for years to come—that had four bedrooms, a nice big kitchen, plenty of closet space, and a yard just big enough for Loras to start a garden.

* * *

**A/N: Well, here it is!**

**Updates may get a little sporadic—in fact I may not be able to update again until the weekend. But no need to fear, this story will be complete soon. **

**Please review, follow, and check out some of my other stories! **

**Thanks for reading, and enjoy! **


	7. Chapter 7

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 7—The Barbecue

* * *

"Do I have to?" Loras asked for the umpteenth time as he and Renly approached the little white house's front door. He could already here people instead, talking loudly and laughing, and of course, crying babies. There was also a smell in the air, like steaks on a grill. No wonder. Summer was almost over and thus the time for barbecues as well.

"_Yes_," Renly said as the climbed the front stoop. "But—" Loras' protest was cut short by Renly pecking on the lips. "Just try, please. It won't be that bad." He said, and Loras could only nod sullenly.

Renly took the liberty of knocking on the off-white front door. Sansa answered it. "Ren, Loras! Welcome!" She said, beaming, little Alyster on her hip. Loras was amazed to see how big the baby was already. He looked so little in the pictures Podrick showed him. Renly gave his auburn-haired co-worker a hug and a wide smile, and gave her son's soft, chubby cheek a gentle pinch. The little baby was completely unfazed and stared up at Renly as if he were a space alien. Loras went and gave Sansa a hug next, but simply smiled and gave Alyster a greeting in a babyish voice. Again, the little redhead did not seem impressed. In fact, he looked downright stoic, which before today, Loras had thought impossible for a baby.

Loras could guess whose side of the family the little boy would take after already.

Inside, Sansa and Podrick's living room was packed to the rafters with parents and small children and babies, as well as other guests. On the couch sat Renly's own niece, Mya, and her husband, their little boy between them, attempting to crawl onto his dad like a jungle gym. Loras was a bit freaked out by the baby's resemblance to Renly. Next to Mya sat her brother's girlfriend and Sansa's sister, Arya. Never had Loras seen the feisty girl so…relaxed. Usually at social gatherings she was brooding about rather being…anywhere else basically. But now, she sat beside Mya, speaking amiably, looking a tad tired, but smiling, and perfectly tranquil. On the arm of the couch next to her sat Gendry, who held their daughter Wenda up in the air, tossing her lightly and catching her, making the near one-year old giggle with glee.

On a armchair in the corner of the room sat Bran Stark, leisurely reading a book, even as a toddler with dark hair climbed the chair and leered over his shoulder, which would make anyone uncomfortable (except for apparently Bran). Suddenly, Robb Stark strolled out of the kitchen, and upon spotting the boy, heaved a sigh and strode across the room to pluck the boy off the chair and carry him back into the kitchen. Then, as if by magic, Meera and Jojen Reed appeared on the armchair, Bran squished between them.

In another corner of the room, on a loveseat, Theon Greyjoy was sprawled out, asleep, with a dark-skinned baby in pink fast asleep on his chest. On the floor sat other couples and guests and children Loras didn't recognize aside from Brienne and Jaime and their son.

"Take a seat wherever," Sansa said. "The food will be done soon and then we can all move outside." With that, the young mother disappeared into the kitchen, from which Loras heard a lot of noise such as clanging pots and pans and running water. Renly found them a seat on the floor next to the couch, close enough for Mya to see them. "Renly, Loras! You guys made it!" She said with a smile bright enough to match her eyes. Her uncle smiled back up at her. "Of course we did. Wouldn't miss this for the world!" He said. "Is the rest of the family coming?" Loras asked, dreading the idea of Stannis showing up. Shireen and Myrcella, Tommen and Edric, and even Bella and Barra were fine with him, but Stannis and Robert…He cringed inwardly at the thought.

Thankfully for him, Mya shook her head. "Dad wanted to come, but…you know, Cersei…" She said in a secretive whisper, most likely because the golden bitch's brother was a stone's throw away. Loras and Renly nodded understandingly.

Suddenly, a tiny hand was grabbing at Loras' hair and yanked. "OW!" Loras shouted as Mya's little boy continued to pull at his hair, giggling the whole time. He attempted to pry away the baby's hands, but Gods! The kid was certainly Robert's grandson! "R-Renly! Help!" His boyfriend scrambled to help, trying as gently as possible to get the boy to let go. It was only by the mother's mercy that Loras was saved by Mya, who laughingly, easily pried her son's hands off of Loras. "Mason, sweetling, that's no way to treat uncle Loras!" She chastised him, but all the blue-eyed boy did was smile toothlessly up at her.

"Does he always grab at people's hair like that?" Renly asked warily. Mya shrugged. "It's not always hair." She said as she handed the boy over to her boyfriend. Loras nearly groaned. "Are all babies so grabby?" He asked. "For a time," Mya said, scooting down to the floor to sit next to them. "But trust me, it's not all that bad. Just put that precious hair of yours up or get a haircut. That's what I did." She said, gesturing to her pixie cut of black hair. "Like that stops my Wenda," Arya suddenly cut in, crawling over to where Mya previously sat on the couch. She sat cross-legged and with said Wenda in her lap, cooing. "I cut my hair, too, but she still grabs at it. Pulls it. Swear, she nearly tears it out every time." She continued, running a hand through her bob of dark brown hair, so similar to her daughter's.

Loras looked at the little baby girl, with brown hair already so long it reached her bottom, with blue eyes like her father and Renly, and so tiny she could be a doll, and wondered what kind of monster lurked within.

Arya caught him looking. "Wanna hold her?" She asked, holding the baby girl out to him. Loras looked at the baby and then at her mother, not really knowing what to say. "S-sure," He said, tentatively taking the girl. She was so light, it was ridiculous. She looked at him, curiously, and smiled brightly. It was an infectious smile—yes, Loras thought, this girl's a Baratheon. He settled the girl in his lap. The little girl seemed absolutely fascinated by his wristwatch, grabbing at it and eyeing it as if it were a puzzle to be solved. Loras chuckled at the sight.

"Food's ready!" Someone shouted from the kitchen, and everyone climbed to their feet (or into their wheelchairs in Bran's case), and slowly poured into the kitchen (aka disaster area) and through the backdoor. Thankfully for the crowd, the backyard was room with plenty of lawn furniture for everyone. At the grill stood Sansa's father, Ned Stark, beside him, his wife Catelyn, who was playing the part of his assistant. Loras and Renly sat near the grill at one of the picnic tables, right next to Podrick and Sansa, and across from Robb and the newly awakened Theon, a toddler in-between them, poking at his hotdog distrustfully.

"Who's this little guy?" Renly asked. The aforementioned boy looked up from his plate, only to flush red and look back down. "That," Robb began. "Would be Lonny, Theon's son. Say hello, Lonny." Shyly, the boy looked up and whispered a hello before going right back to poking his hotdog. Theon sighed, took a fork, and started cutting up the hotdog. Then he stood, the plate of hotdog in hand, and held out another hand to Lonny. "Come on, let's go find some baked beans." He said, and his son beamed, hopped up and took his hand. When they were gone, Sansa whispered, "How are things going?" Robb sighed and put his head in his hands. "I finally understand mom." He grumbled. Loras was inclined to ask what the heck the Stark siblings were talking about…but something told them this was too personal for him to ask about.

Theon and Lonny returned a moment later with a plate of pork and beans for Lonny, who greedily wolfed it down when it was sat before him. "So," Theon began as he sat. "How's everything going for you two? Is Ashara treating you well?" He asked. Robb looked about ready to chastise him, but Renly was quick with his reply. "We had a mother contact us, but…well, she decided she wanted parents with less dangerous jobs." He said. Sansa laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," She said, but Renly shook his head. "No, no…Ashara warned us about be rejected. Besides, there are thousands of babies in need of a home. We'll get one of them, I'm sure."

Lonny tugged at Theon's sleeve. "Are they going to get a baby like you and Robb did?" He asked timidly, and Theon nodded. "Yeah, they're going to get a baby the same way we got Nasreen." Lonny smiled brightly at Loras and Renly then. "That's good!" The boy cheered. "I really like Nasreen—you'll like having a baby, too!" He said, smiling. All the adults laughed, even Loras. "I'm sure we will, Lonny." Renly said, reaching across the table to ruffle the boy's dark hair.

Several minutes later, Loras got up to get a second helping. Those steaks were fantastic! Loras grabbed another one, the last one, a baked potato, some macaroni salad, and…well, he was going to grab some chips, but they were out. Catelyn Stark walked by just as he was about to reluctantly head back to the picnic table in defeat. "Oh, Mrs. Stark! Are there anymore chips?" He asked. Mrs. Stark simply pointed inside the house as she continued her beeline for her granddaughter Wenda across the patio.

Loras headed inside, into the kitchen, intent on finding his precious barbecue chips.

"Oh!" He said with surprise, upon finding several men gathered around the kitchen island, beers in hand. "I didn't realize there was a second party going on in here." He said, working his way around the men, searching the countertops for the chips, which for the life of him he could not find. He cursed.

"Hey, do any of you know where the barbecue chips are?" He asked. The men exchanged looks, and a fat one guiltily held up an empty chip bag. Loras sighed and headed towards the door. "Wait!" The fat one called. "I think there's more somewhere. Let me look, you, you just wait, okay?" And without awaiting his reply, the fat young man went to work on a raiding Sansa and Pod's kitchen for a bag of barbecue chips.

Loras stood awkwardly at the backdoor for a moment, before shrugging to him self and joining the other men around the kitchen island. He recognized a few of them, now that he actually looked at them. There was Jon, Sansa's cousin, for one, and he was pretty sure one of them was Edric Dayne, and there was also Sansa's other cousin, Robin, and her brother, Rickon. A few of the others were mysteries.

Loras raised an eyebrow at Robin and Rickon. "Aren't you a little young for beer?" He asked. Rickon scoffed. "Yeah. What are you gonna do about it?" He asked like a condescending little brat. "You know I'm a cop, right?" Loras asked in turn. Rickon and Robin turned white, dropped the beers, and bolted for the backdoor, leaving all the men laughing. Outside, in the pool, there was a large splash and cries of surprise.

"_Rickon!"_

"_Sweetrobin!"_

"_SHAGGYDOG!" _

When their laughter died, Loras was able to finally turn to Jon and ask, "What sort of cousin are you, letting them drink like that?" Jon shrugged. "They could either do it behind our backs in the garage, or right in front of us, in the safety of the kitchen, nowhere near power tools." Loras rolled his eyes at them, and the rest of the men laughed. "What's so funny?" Loras asked. "It's nothing," Jon said. "Just, you sound like a parent already." He said, and Loras felt him self freeze.

The others noticed. "We don't mean to say you're lame or anything," The Dayne kid tried to say. "Loras, are you okay?" Jon tried to ask. "I found the chips!" The fat one finally yelled. Loras grabbed the chips and turned on his heel. He fled the kitchen, suddenly plagued by thoughts about his own kid getting drunk at parties behind his back and having to yell and reprimand them like some old, no-fun geezer.

Outside, people were climbing into the pool, clad in swimsuits, small children in water wings, and babies in little floatation devices. Theon Greyjoy was doing laps in the pool, impressing many, while his son Lonny took to the water like a fish, despite Robb's narcotic yelling about putting on his water wings. Rickon was doing canon balls into the pool, much to everyone's annoyance, except for a girl Loras scarcely recognized as one of Oberyn's, who cheered Rickon on. Robin, who was still shivering from his previous dive, did not look eager to climb back into the water. Several dogs were in the pool as well.

Renly sat on the edge of the pool next to Brienne, who was stubbornly wearing her clothes still, her jeans simply rolled up to her knee. In the water near by, Jaime was gently pushing his son around the pool, though the golden haired babe did not seem to like the water much.

Loras stripped down to his swim trunks and approached. "Hey," He greeted his boyfriend, sitting down next to him and pecking him on the cheek. Renly returned the peck and pulled away beaming. "Loras," He said eagerly. "Help me get Brienne to go in the pool. She refuses to be seen in a swim suit!" Over his shoulder, Brienne sent him a silent plea. "Well, I would, Ren, _but_…" With a hard shove, Renly went into the pool with a large splash. Loras and Brienne laughed as the Baratheon resurfaced, his black hair a sobbing mop on his head. Suddenly, however, they found their feet seized by the blue-eyed devil and were yanked into the pool with an even larger splash.

Loras forgot all about his worries as he and Renly spent the next few hours, horse playing in the pool. By the time they crawled out, it was almost dark and getting cold. Sansa thankfully had some towels ready for them, and soon they were dry and back in their clothes.

Before they left, Renly kissed and hugged Mya goodbye, and gave little Mason and Wenda kisses on the forehead. They both gave Sansa and Pod hugs on the way out, and ruffled the hair of Lonny Greyjoy as they passed him and his father down the driveway.

Loras didn't realize how tired he was until he was in the car, when he couldn't help but yawn and doze off just a block away from the Payne residence.

* * *

When they got home, Loras wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and not come out until noon the next day. With Renly firmly wrapped around him of course. But no, his boyfriend just had to check the answering machine…

"I'll be right up, promise." Renly called softly as Loras lugged him self down the hall towards their bedroom. He only grunted in reply. He crawled into bed as planned, stealing some of Renly's share of the covers as a bit of payback, and nuzzled into his pillow with a sigh. Soon, he was drifting off to sleep.

Until Renly had come loudly prancing in, jumping onto the bed, and wrapping his arms around him. Loras groaned and tried to scoot away from his boyfriend, who held him way too tightly for comfort. "Let go, Ren!" He yawned, squirming. But Renly gave weird sort of…giggle…a mannish giggle of excitement but…still a giggle. Loras rolled over to face Renly with a curious expression. "Did you just…giggle?" He asked. With no shame, Renly nodded. "_Why_?" Loras asked. Renly leaned his close so their noses were nearly touching. "Because…" He breathed. "Ashara called…a mother chose _us!_"

And suddenly, Loras felt as if his entire world had been flipped upside down.

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**A/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday! But thankfully, school was canceled here today and I could write this! **

**So please review, check out my other stories, and enjoy! **


	8. Chapter 8

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 8—The Mother

* * *

Ashara arranged them to meet the mother at a nice restaurant on the south side of town. It was one of those places that could be found on every corner in the Dorne Borough. It served spicy, exotic foods that you either loved or made you want to puke because they were just a little _too_ exotic. Loras ate before they left to avoid the horrific scenario where he puked all over the mother. If anyone asked why he wasn't eating, he'd just say he wasn't feeling well (there was a stomach bug going around so no one but Renly would raise an eyebrow at it). Both he and Renly dressed to impress, though Ashara had told them not to overdo it because they could come off as shallow or pompous to the mother. Mothers don't want their children to be raised by snobs, she told them.

Ashara gave them a whole list of things mothers did don't want in adoptive parents. Some understandable, others…Loras didn't really understand at all; nonetheless, Renly made sure they both followed the list of rules and requirements to the letter. He checked his appearance in the mirror no less than five times before they left.

They arrived at the restaurant at one, because Ashara said a lunch was less pressure than a dinner and breakfast was too early not to be really awkward. They spotted Ashara's car parked a little ways down the street. Inside, the restaurant was packed, with people leisurely chatting and enjoying their food, which Loras had to admit looked pretty good. In one secluded corner, there sat Ashara, who was facing the direction of the entrance. In front of her, turned away from them, sat a dark-haired woman. They approached, smiling.

Ashara stood to greet them and gave them hugs. "Renly, Loras," She said. "This is Delva Pomeroy." And the young woman stood and smiled at them and held out a hand for them to shake. Loras was surprised that Delva didn't look pregnant in the least. Her stomach was flat still. She didn't have that glow everyone talks about. She was actually quite pale, like someone from the North side. To his even greater surprise, she wasn't some teenager. She had to be Renly's age. "Hello, Delva. I'm Renly Baratheon." Renly said with a bright, giddy smile as he shook the woman's hand. "Nice to me you. I'm Loras Tyrell." Loras said as he shook her hand next. Delva nodded and smiled. "I know," She said. "I did bother to read your profiles before picking you." She said laughingly.

They sat down and a waitress came around and handed them menus, and they each ordered their drinks. "So," Ashara began when the waitress was gone. "We're not going to get into much detail today, that can wait until later, when Delva reaches her second trimester, but we can start with you three getting to know one another. I think it's good that we establish a cordial relationship here today, to make things a little less awkward down the road." Ashara dug some papers out of her purse. "I'm not asking for you to become best friends or anything. Just, let's try and make it so we all are on the same page here." She pulled a pen out of nowhere and put it to the paper. "I'm required to take notes on this first meeting, but no pressure. Just…talk, get to know one another. Let's start with Delva. Tell them about why you chose adoption, dear." Ashara said, smiling at Delva from across the table. The girl turned a bit red, but nodded.

"Well, I was dating this guy. But he turned out to be a total jerk…I was in a really bad place after we broke up, because for some stupid reason I had thought he was the love of my life. Anyways, to get me out of my funk, my girlfriends took me to a club one night a couple months ago. I hooked up with a guy, and…got pregnant." Delva sighed. "We're all adults here. So you get that I'm not some little girl, right? I'm not going to fool myself into thinking I can handle being a single mom, because I know I can't. I was adopted as a baby from a teen mom myself, and I know both our lives are better for it. I trust someone else to raise my baby better than I ever could, just like my parents raised me better than my birth mother could have. That's why I chose adoption." She explained. The waitress came around and gave them all their drinks. "Wow, that's very mature of you, Delva." Renly said. "Yeah, reminds me of this girl I met on the job a few months back." Loras said, and he proceeded to relate the tale of the Mom who tried to make her daughter keep her baby. Everyone seemed horrified. "What kind of mother does that?" Ashara asked, disgusted. "White trash." Delva said, taking a sip of her water. "You must run into a lot of that sort of thing on the job though, right?" She asked. Loras shrugged. "I haven't been on the force long, so I mostly end up on simple patrols on the nicer side of town. Worse thing that me and Podrick, my partner, have been called out on was a home invasion where the guy shot the Dad. Once we showed up, though, he got so scared that he actually dropped the gun and ran. Good thing he was tubby." Renly groaned beside him. "I hate when you mention guns. I always worry about one of those assholes actually using one on you someday." He grumbled. Loras chuckled. "Don't you think I do, too?" He asked, leaning over and pecking Renly's cheek. "It's all in a day's work." He said, and Renly rolled his eyes.

"I think you're very brave." Delva said. "My adoptive dad was a cop. Mom worried a lot about him. But I think it was good having a cop as a dad. He taught me how to shoot, self-defense, and street-smarts. Those are good things to have in a place like Westeros City." She said, smiling.

"Your dad was a cop, eh? What did your mom do?" Renly asked curiously. Delva shrugged. "When I was little, she stayed at home with me and my foster sibs, but when we got older, she went back to work. First at a grocery store as a check out clerk, then as a janitor at my high school, but then she got certified as a nurse's aid and went to work at the hospital."

"A Jack of all trades." Loras said laughingly, and Delva chuckled and said, "More like a Jacqueline. That was her name." Suddenly, she sobered. "Actually, if it was alright with you…if my baby turns out to be a girl, I'd like her name to be Jacqueline. Could you keep that name?" She asked, sounding hopeful. "I know it's not really normal for adoptive parents to keep the child's birth name, but…could you?" Loras and Renly exchanged looks, and Renly nodded. "Of course. That would be fine with us." He said, and Delva smiled thankfully.

"Have you two thought of any names?" Ashara suddenly asked. "Well, uh…" Renly stammered. "Not really." He admitted. Beside him, Loras took a long drink of his tea. The idea of picking out baby names suddenly made him nervous. "Oh come on," Ashara said. "No relatives you'd like to name a little boy after? Middle names? What about last name, you must have thought of that?" She asked. Loras swallowed his drink. "Tyrell-Baratheon. We'll hyphen it." He answered, his tone leaving no room for argument from Renly, who looked at him with surprise.

The waitress came around and asked for their orders. When she was gone once again, Delva said, "That sounds lovely. But have your families suggested any names?" She asked, and Loras had to nod truthfully. Margeary had been very…persistent with her suggestion of one name. "My sister wants us to name a little girl Marguerite. It's French for daisy, she says, but I find it suspiciously close to her name, Margeary." Delva laughed. "Jacqueline Marguerite Tyrell-Baratheon. Name a girl that and she'll get back at you by marrying a convict when she'd older." Renly let out a huge groan and put his face in his hands. "Don't put that in my head!" He said, and they all laughed at his expense.

When Renly was done muttering about nightmares, he admitted, "My nieces have been texting me non-stop about baby names for months. Off the top of my head, Myrcella and Shireen said they like Bryony or Cassie for a girl and Wyatt or Gabek for a boy. Mya says she likes Eben." Loras cringed. "Gabek? Seriously?" He asked. Delva made a face. "Agreed, please no Gabek." Ashara said, wrinkling her nose.

Renly laughed. "Okay, okay. But what about Steffon, after my father?"

"Hm, sorry, Ren, but that name is…"

"A little stuffy and dangerously close to Steven or Stephanie?" Ashara offered.

"Fine," Renly said. "Wyatt doesn't sound that bad, does it?" He asked.

"I like Wyatt," Delva said. "Yes, but I do not." Loras interjected. Renly huffed.

"Any better ideas, _Lory_?" He asked, and Loras sniffed disapprovingly at the nickname.

He said the first good name that came to mind. "Luthor, after my grandfather." Renly barked a laugh. "You mean like the lame bad guy from Superman?" He asked.

The debate about names continued until the food arrived, at which point it was replaced by an argument over whether or not the weird taste in Loras' soup was oregano or not. Delva, Renly, and Ashara took so many spoonfuls of his soup that Loras was pretty sure he only ate approximately half of it himself.

When they were done with their meal, they split the check three ways and left on amiable terms to meet again in a few weeks. Some place, same time.

When Loras climbed into the passenger seat of the car, though, he couldn't help but feel a little sick. Everything was suddenly very, very real.

And he didn't know how to feel about that.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness of this update! **

**But you know the drill: review, follow, favorite, and enjoy!**

**See ya tomorrow! **


	9. Chapter 9

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 9—Nesting

* * *

Loras stared from the doorway at the empty room, with its bare white walls and hardwood floors. A blank canvas, Margeary called it. But with a canvas, you usually had an idea of what you wanted to put on it. A nature scene, a portrait, or perhaps something abstract. Loras, however, did not have a clue of what to put in the room. The baby's nursery. Of course he knew there would have to be a crib, a changing table, maybe a chair and toy box…but things like color scheme and theme escaped him.

He looked down at the color swatches in his hand (greens, blues, yellows, and reds) and then looked back at the room, trying to imagine the walls in each shade, trying to think of what the baby might like. But…how was he supposed to know? He didn't even know what the baby's sex was; how was he supposed to decorate the room of a child whose genitalia hadn't even developed properly yet? But Renly insisted he decorate the baby's room. Nesting, he called it.

Loras sighed as he stepped into the room finally. He wasn't even allowed to get Margeary's help. Not directly at least, according to Renly. He was only allowed ask for her input, not have her do it for him. So far, he had asked his sister only one thing: where was he supposed to start?

He could still remember her smile as she bit into her strawberry shortcake. "Theme would be a good place to start. Although, actually stepping into the room would be even better."

True, Loras had been avoidant of the baby's future room since moving into his and Renly's new apartment. Margeary had teased him endlessly about his fear of an empty bedroom. Well, Loras finally got fed up and decided he would prove her wrong.

If it weren't for the fact Margeary was right. Just standing in the middle of the bedroom made him a bit uncomfortable. Even as he taped the color swatches to the wall and stepped back, the emptiness of the room made him…uneasy. Slowly, he turned around and eyed the room. Each of the four white walls and the two windows, the white bedroom and closet doors, the dark wood of the floor and bumpy white ceiling, and the white ceiling fan that spun overhead.

Loras didn't get a single idea. Sighing in frustration, Loras stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him. In the kitchen, he found Renly doing the baby-proofing. He was messing with the latch for the cabinet under the kitchen, fiddling with it with a screwdriver when he noticed Loras standing over him. "Hey," He greeted him, standing up. "Done with the nursery already?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "No," Loras grumbled. "I need help." He said lowly, and Renly rolled his eyes at him. "Oh come on, you haven't even gotten to the hard part yet. Today all you have to do is pick a color for the walls so that way I have something to tell the painters when they come on Friday." Renly said with crossed arms. Loras leaned against the countertop and hoisted him self up to sit next to the sink. "It's not as easy as it sounds. I don't even—we don't even know the baby's sex. What if I pick blue and it turns out to be a girl? We'll have to repaint and everything." He complained. "Or," Renly said, crouching back down to fiddle with the latch. "We could simply raise a tomboy. And blue can be very feminine. Just like pink can be manly." He said, sending a pointed look at Loras' pink shirt. Loras rolled his eyes and hopped off the counter.

He rounded the kitchen island and took a seat at one of the stools, and pulled over a stack of baby books gifted graciously to them by Ashara and their enthusiastic friends and family (okay, Loras' family). He opened up the one at the top of the stack. He leisurely flipped through it, hoping to perhaps find some advice about this "nesting" thing. With his luck, of course he found nothing. And the next book wasn't much more help…or the next…or the last one either. Sighing in defeat and frustration, Loras slammed shut the book and got up.

He marched over to the sliding glass door leading to the back yard. He stepped outside into the cold, shivering when a breeze passed by that made the wind chimes of he had hung jingle. He sat him self down in a lawn chair and pulled his legs to his chest for warmth. He stared out on the dying lawn, at the little section of ground he had marked as the future site of his garden. He had put four wooden posts at each corner of a little square section of the yard near the back fence and connected them with some string. He hoped it would stay in tact over the winter so he wouldn't have to redo his measurements when spring came.

He imagined what spring would be like. Warm and sunny, with greenery everywhere. Not cold and dark, with everything dead. He'd start his garden by digging up the earth and mixing it with fertilizers and compost. He could imagine the freshly tilled land already, remembering how his and Margeary's had looked each spring when they went to work on it again.

Loras smiled, remembering a lot of things about those springs. His and his brother's games, Margeary and Grandmother sipping sweet tea on the back patio, his father's ill-fated attempt at building him and Garlan a tree house, and Willas showing off the tricks he taught the dogs to their mother's delight. Loras could see it all right before his eyes, replacing the cold, small, dying yard in front of him. It made him smile widely and laugh under his breath at dim memories of childhood shenanigans.

Suddenly, though, a new image popped up in place of him and Margeary playing in the dirt of the garden with their mother. It was himself, only older than he was now, digging in his future garden in this very back yard. But someone was beside him. A child whose face he didn't recognize but made him smile anyway, who giggled as they examined the sprouts of tomato plants and stems of flowers, who asked questions about when the plants would be full-grown and how they could get the plants to grow faster. It was Loras and his child, he realized, and Loras felt…not uncomfortable, but…happy with this image in his head.

He got up and walked back into the kitchen, where Renly was now sitting at the kitchen island, enjoying a peach. He looked up at him with a raised eyebrow mid-bite. "Why are you so happy? It has to be thirty degrees out there and you hate the cold." He said, and Loras shrugged. "The cold doesn't bother me _that _much." Loras said, walking past Renly, down the hall, and into the nursery. He ripped one of the watches off the wall and strode back into the kitchen and slapped it down in front of Renly, who jerked slightly with surprise.

"Which shade of green do you like best?" Loras asked, smiling.

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**A/N: Well, here's chappy number nine, hope you like it! **

**I think there will only be two or so more chapters in this story….**


	10. Chapter 10

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 10—Alone

* * *

Loras arrived home from working not expecting much. Maybe a call from Margeary to gossip about some new scandal, Renly to alert him to some call from Ashara about their next meeting, and maybe for some of the furniture he ordered for the nursery to be delivered. What he didn't expect was to find Renly and Delva sitting on the living room couch together, smiling like idiots at a photo.

Delva had changed a lot over the autumn and winter. With spring almost here, so was her due date, which was somewhere in late April, and she had slowly but surely grown bigger and bigger. Unlike their first meeting, there was no question now that she was pregnant. At the entry way to the living room, Loras couldn't help but stop and stare in surprise. Not just at her very presence in his home, but at her state. His eyes were instinctually drawn to her expended belly that stretched under her beige maternity dress and the red sweater she wore over top of it. Inside that belly, he thought with minor terror, was the child he would call his son or daughter.

Renly and Delva looked up and smiled at him as he finally stepped into the room, his shoes clicking against the hardwood as he left the carpet of the hallway. "Loras, Loras," Renly called, waving him forward. "Come look at this!" He said with a wide grin. Loras slowly approached and sat down next to Renly, who pulled him close as he took the photo from Delva's hands and held it so close to Loras' face that at first he couldn't quite make it out.

Loras took the photo from Renly and held it at an appropriate distance. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what it was. It was a sonogram. It was undeniably a sonogram of a baby. A baby with arms and legs, a head and a torso, and a heartbeat.

Delva leaned over and pointed at the photo. "The doctor says he's growing just fine and that there isn't anything to worry about. His heart is nice and strong—you should have heard it. It was like, like a humming bird's or a drumbeat! He's strong, too." She said. "And look here. Those are his parts, see? It's a boy. That's your guys' son." She said, grinning at him. Loras felt his mouth go dry as he stared at the sonogram.

"My…my son…" He mumbled.

* * *

"It's a boy!" Margeary nearly squealed when he called her later that night as he was loading the dish washer after dinner and Renly was in his office rummaging through files. He put his cell on speaker phone and placed it on the counter as he went to work on scraping plates and arranging them in the dishwasher in a space conserving order. "Oh my Gods, oh my Gods, oh my Gods! Wait until Mom and Dad find out!" She cheered. Loras rolled his eyes, imagining her jumping up and down on her bed in silk pajamas with curlers in her hair and weird green paste all over her face (he had walked in on the scene before when they were teens). Loras chuckled and replied, "Don't breathe a word until Sunday, Marg! Renly wants us to do it ourselves, in person. We're not even posting it on the internet or anything."

"Oh, big secret, I get it. Well, _Lory_, my lips are sealed. No one will hear it from me." Margeary said over the phone, and Loras could imagine her pretending to zip her lips closed as she said it. "Not even Grandmother?" He asked, glaring at his phone as if Margeary might feel it from halfway across town.

There was a long pause.

"Lory, darling, we both know that she already knows." Margeary eventually replied, and then they both laughed. It had been a joke since childhood that Grandmother Olenna was some omniscient being who knew everything from the fact that Cersei had been cheating on Robert for years to what the neighbors ate for breakfast in the morning. Knowing the old woman, Loras was sure she probably did already know the sex of his and Renly's future son, or would at least find out somehow before Sunday.

"Seriously though Marg," Loras said as he poured the detergent into the dishwasher. "Tell no one. This is really important to Ren." He said warningly. "And it's not important to you?" She asked and Loras could just see the arched eyebrow before his very eyes. He sighed as he closed the dishwasher and pressed the start button. "_Yes_," He hissed. He heard Margeary sigh on the other end of the line. _"Loras_," She began forebodingly. "I know something's wrong. Tell me." She commanded.

Begrudgingly, Loras picked up his cell and turned off speaker phone and held it to his ear. He leaned against the kitchen counter with a sigh. "I…I'm scared, okay." He admitted in a whisper, keeping an eye on the kitchen entry way for Renly. "Scared?" Margeary asked confusedly. "But, I thought you were okay now. You were cool with everything. Your job, the adoption process, being a good parent, and even the nursery. You've dealt with all your issues, I thought." She said.

"Not all of them," Loras said lowly and he slipped down to the floor to sit with his legs crisscrossed. "I'm having a son…and…" His head hit the cabinet behind him with a small thud. He looked up at the kitchen ceiling and sighed. "I don't think I can raise a boy." Loras said. "What?" Margeary asked, sounding taken aback. "You're kidding, right? Loras, you'll love having a son! You love sports and are awesome at them. You understand girls and give great dating advice on how to deal with them. And don't get me started on how cool it must be for a little boy to have a cop for a dad!" She practically shouted on the other end of the line.

Loras groaned and shook his head and put it in-between his knees. "Being good at sports, giving good girl advice, and being a cop don't make a good dad—it makes a good wingman. I think that may be the exact opposite of what a parent should be." He grumbled into the phone. He could almost feel Margeary roll her eyes and smile comfortingly at him. He felt a little better.

"What does a wing man do? Help out his friend. What does a parent do? Help out his child." Margeary said. "And even if you were the worst wing man on earth, I know you'd make a very good father to a little boy." Loras sighed. "But wouldn't it be weird…" He struggled to say it aloud. "For him to have two dads. I don't want him to feel weird or different because of me and Renly." He said, and Margeary sighed with frustration. "Are you serious? If that kid manages to pick up any of yours and Renly's wit, he'll have a million comebacks for any snide remarks anyone makes about you and Renly." Margeary said.

"A sharp tongue can only do so much," Loras said. "I remember how it feels though…being different. Knowing I was different. When I came out, I remember the jokes and the snickers. The looks and the awkward questions. It made me feel so, so alone." He took a deep breath. "No one could understand my circumstances, so they never understood how their playful comments could hurt and their countless, pointless questions made me feel like I was some sort of mutant to them." Margeary remained silent on her end, so he continued even further.

"He'll have the same thing happen. Kids can be cruel. They'll make cracks behind his back, ask him questions that make him feel uncomfortable and like he'd some oddball just because he had two dads, like he doesn't have a normal family, like _he _isn't normal. He'll come home from school, asking things that no kid should have to ask, like why some parents at school functions give us disapproving stares and if because me and Renly are gay if he'll be gay." Loras took another deep breath and stood up. He rounded the kitchen island to sit on one of the stools.

From the stool, he could see the wall of pictures in the living room. His and Renly's condensed collection of family, friends, and happy memories. One corner of the wall specifically contained photos from Loras' teens, the most awkward, hellish time of his life. He smiled in many of the photos, whether he be with his family, his friends, or all by himself. But he knew in that picture of him posing in his soccer uniform on one knee and holding the ball, that he had plastered that smile on while he listened to some of his teammates snicker about him off to the side because he had obviously been attracted to the photographer taking their photos. He knew in that photo from Christmas when he was fifteen where he's sitting on the couch with his aunts, sipping hot chocolate as they watch the rest of family open their gifts, that while that photo was being taken, his aunt had been making some well intentioned but very hurtful remarks about his recent coming out. And Loras could still remember the sting of having to go to prom with his cousin because Crownland Conservatory would not allow gay couples to attend together. The picture that hang on the wall of him and his cousin in matching green and gold mocked him.

"Loras…" Margeary began. "You said no one would understand, but…you will." She said. "You'll understand. You'll be there for him. To advise him, to comfort him, and guide him along. And Renly will be, too. You worry about him being as alone as you felt back then…but he won't be." Margeary said.

"But will that be enough?" Loras asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But it'll help, I know it." She answered confidently.

Several minutes later, Loras hang up. He looked back at his and Renly's wall of memories in the living room, at the pictures that reminded him of every torture he endured in high school and middle school and even into college. He decided, eyeing that wretched picture of him and his cousin, that his son would never, ever have to go through something so humiliating.

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**A/N: Second to last chapter, folks! **

**I'm really happy today—despite what the angst of this chapter may imply—because school was canceled. Hoo-ray! But seriously, what was up with manage stories? Couldn't get on all day! **

**So please follow, favorite, review, and enjoy, and maybe check out some of my other stories as well! **

**Oh, and I would also like to extend a voting ballet to you all! **

**I've decided the name of the baby already, since Chapter 3 actually, but I would like you all to have a say in his middle name.**

**All options work for the first and last name well enough, so no worries about it not quite fitting (but i guess it's a matter of opinion *shrugs*) **

**Here are the three options: William, Jorie, or Lorent**

**Vote in your reviews and I'll see ya next time! **


	11. Chapter 11

ASOIAF: Modern!AU

Fawn

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.

Ch. 11—The Baby

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Loras was at work when he got the call from Renly, who had been informed by Ashara, saying that Delva had gone into labor. Before he knew what he was doing, he was in Captain Selmy's office, begging to go home early. "Just go," The white-haired man cut him off half-way through his ramblings, and Loras breathed a sigh or relief and nearly hugged the man, but instead simply saluted him and took off running out the door.

He expected it to be a whirlwind like in the movies, where the scene where the woman goes into labor is followed by a quick succession of her friends/family/husband rushing her to the hospital, her being wheeled into said hospital, put in a room, starts pushing, and bang-boom-what do you know, the baby comes and everyone's crying with awe at the beauty of the miracle of life, and a few scenes later, the credits roll.

Instead, Loras and Renly find themselves sitting in the waiting room for hours before even being allowed to step into Delva's room to talk to her. Ashara was there when they came in, papers in hand and speaking to the tired looking Delva, who was nodding her head numbly as a nurse fiddled with some things around the small room. "Hey," Renly greeted her in a soft whisper and with a smile, and she smiled in return. "The doctor says it'll be hours before I'm ready to start pushing." She informed with solemnly, and Loras can't help noticing that not only was Delva tired, but she seemed incredibly sad. The hand she had placed on her stomach, rubbing it in small circles, didn't escape his notice. He felt guilty for a dreadful moment before his and Delva's eyes met. Her brown eyes were full of grit and knowing, and Loras knew that she was strong and wouldn't back out on them as Ashara had warned them she might for months.

"That's okay," Renly said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just get some rest while you can, and we'll be right down the hall." Delva seemed relieved by Renly's words. "Thank you. It's nice to have someone around. I asked my family not to come, because…you know. So I'm on my own until the baby's born." She said thankfully. Loras' eyebrows drew together of their own accord. "Why wouldn't you have your family with you? Surely you need the moral support." He said, and Delva shook her head. "No, no. They've been…" She sent a pleading look to Ashara, who nodded, and said, "Some members of her family don't want her to give up the baby." Delva gave a sigh. "My foster siblings mostly, because they look at it as if I'm abandoning him like their parents did them. My parents are supportive, but I can tell my mom would really rather have me keep it, even if she doesn't say so, and my dad has been asking if I'm sure I want this for months. I don't think…I don't think I could handle it, so I told them all to back off until it's all said and done." Delva explained, and Renly and Loras nodded understandingly.

The nurse told them and Ashara they'd have to leave then because Delva needed her rest, so Loras and Renly set up shop in the waiting room, and wave goodbye to Ashara as she exits the building. There, they pass the time in silence, watching the muted television in the corner of the room with the subtitles on, reading the old magazines one by one, and hitting up the vending machines occasionally.

Six hours pass, and Loras wants to shoot his self. Loras hated hospitals. He hated the smell. He hated how it looked, inside and out. And worst of all, he hated the people inside. The annoying nurses who never stopped pestering you or spoke above a whisper, making any sound louder than a pen dropping you make sound like an avalanche. The doctors who are always either incredibly, nerve-wrackingly vague or gravely blunt and only ever show their masked faces when you're ready to explode with anxiety. And those woeful patients with minor ailments and injuries like broken arms and appendicitis that act like they're dying of the plague and whine like toddlers if the nurse is late with their sponge bath and pudding.

So even on this happy occasion, he couldn't help but sit in the waiting room, shaking one leg so fast it practically vibrated, biting his tongue to prevent himself from asking Renly if they could just go home and come back when it actually happened. She wasn't going to be having the thing for at least another twelve hours according to the nurse who'd swung by not long ago. But Loras held his tongue, because Renly had been smiling like a kid on Christmas Eve for the past six hours and he didn't want to take away his excitement just because he was exceedingly uncomfortable.

But then again, when had he been comfortable in the last few weeks, or even in the months before?

But then, he realizes suddenly, that it wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. Loras thinks back to Jojen's words, Podrick and Sansa and their little boy, that pregnant teen, his family and friends, the baby's room and his garden, and meeting Delva…and he can't help but smile stupidly to himself because despite his worries, his discomforts, and his fears, Loras can't help being a little excited to be a father.

So when the doctor comes and says that Delva is ready to start pushing a little earlier than expected, his heart begins beating like a hummingbird's—but in a good way.

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It's 3 o'clock in the morning when his and Renly's son is born, a healthy seven pounds, eight ounces, with ten fingers and ten toes, and a birth mark on his butt in the shape of…well, they're torn on whether it looks like a flower or a hoof mark. But the point was, he was a perfectly healthy and very happy baby boy.

Renly and Loras went home long enough to shower and change their clothes, and prep the car and apartment for the baby's arrival. When they returned to the hospital, Delva and the baby's—very eager—father signed the papers, and then, the gravity of their situation fell upon them all. Delva sat in her hospital bed, hands folded in her lap and putting on a brave face, and beside her it seemed the baby's father was having some sort of internal conflict by the look in his eyes, and Renly and Loras could only sit awkwardly next to Delva's bed as a nearby nurse held the fitful newborn that had just become their son. Ashara sat in her chair and informed them in a gentle, almost motherly voice, "You all did a wonderful thing today. Something unselfish and kind, and out of love, and there is no shame or guilt in that. I'll talk to you all in a few weeks." She stood up and smiled down at Loras and Renly. "And congratulations." She whispered with a smile. And then she was out the door, and the nurse stepped forward and held the baby out to Loras.

Loras looked at her wit apprehension at first, and then at Renly, hoping he might want to hold their son first, but Renly smiled, and Delva waved him on encouragingly, and the father even gives him a thumbs up. So Loras takes the baby from the nurse, holding him how Leonette had instructed him to when Jack had first been born, and at first, he started to panic because the baby started crying louder and wriggling in his arms. He looks at the others and the nurse, feeling his cheeks turn red as he struggled to hush the newborn.

He almost gave up and started to hand his son back to the nurse. But then, the baby started to hush up as Loras bounced him a little in his arms, and Loras felt his fear ebb away ever so slightly. He looked down at the infant swaddled in his arms and feels his heart warm up and a big idiot grin spread across his lips.

The baby had little wisps of brown hair like his mother and birth-father, and Loras suspected his eyes might turn out brown like his biological parents as well. Sneaking a sideways glance at his son's birth-father, Loras prayed he didn't inherit his nose. Though really, when he looked down at the adorable soft pink face surrounded by white and blue blankets in his arm, he could imagine him looking any less cute even with a beak for a nose.

It takes twenty minutes for Renly to pry the baby from his arms, and an hour later, they said their goodbyes to Delva and went home, new baby in tow.

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"He's adorable!" Margeary gushed a few days later when the Tyrell & Baratheon families gathered at Loras and Renly's to meet the newest addition.

"He'll be a handsome one." Alerie, Loras' mother said as she peered over her daughter's shoulder into the bassinet in the corner of the nursery. Leonette nodded her agreement, even as her son Jack on her hip pouted in disapproval of his new cousin.

"Bet he'll be a jock." Garlan said conversationally to Willas.

"I'll take that bet," Willas replied with a playful smile. "In fifteen years, if he prefers kicking a ball to reading a book, I'll give you fifty stags. But if the reverse is the case…" Willas trailed off. Garlan laughed and put out a hand. "I'll take that bet. While we're at it, let's bet who his favorite uncle will be!"

Robert started laughing then. "Me of course!" He boasted. "I'll give the boy a good time, and show him how to be a man, just like I did, Renly. Right, Ren?" Loras nearly sighed exasperatedly as he watched Renly shiver, probably briefly flashing back to what it is only known as the "Stripper Incident". The fact it involved a stripper, Renly realizing he was gay, and Robert was about all Loras knew on the subject, but he knew Renly still had nightmares about it. Still, Loras watched as Renly plastered on a smile and nodded his head. Stannis huffed disapprovingly and turned away.

"Hey, Uncle Renly," Stannis' daughter Shireen suddenly called. "What did you guys decide to name him?" She asked, eyes shining bright. Beside her, Myrcella was practically bouncing with anticipation, and Tommen seemed excited as well. Though Joffrey and Jack seemed like they couldn't care less, and Renly's other niece, Mya, and nephews, Gendry and Edric, sent them pitying looks as the entire conjoined families' eyes zeroed in on them.

Renly grinned and replied, "We've decided to name him Devin. Devin William Tyrell-Baratheon." Polite comments followed the announcement, including some gushing from Shireen and Myrcella over how much they loved the name. But when Devin started crying, everyone seemed to telepathically agree to vacate the room for the living room, leaving only Loras to attend to the newborn while Renly moved into the other room with everyone else in order to ensure WWIII didn't occur.

Loras gently picked up his son from his bassinet and cradled him in his arms, bouncing him just the way he liked, and Devin hushed relatively quickly. The baby stared up at him with curious eyes, and smiled toothlessly up at him with Loras grinned and tickled his chin. Loras couldn't help but chuckle as he set the babe down on the changing table and got to work.

When he was done and Devin was in a fresh, clean diaper, redressed in his yellow onesie and booties, Loras sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room with him in his arms and rocked ever so slowly back and forth, back and forth. Before he knew it, Devin was fast asleep in his arms. Loras smiled down at his son, climbed to his feet, and set him back down in his crib.

As Loras stepped out of the nursery and into the hallway, he couldn't help but look back and smile one more time. I never would have thought two years ago where I would be now, Loras thought with grin as he turned and made his way towards the commotion in the living room. He swore if that was his favorite vase he just heard break…

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**A/N: Sorry for the delay! I was busy with an art show at my school! Plus a few school projects and homework! But anyways—it's over, it's done! Last chapter, everyone; I hope you enjoyed it. I did! It was a lot of fun, and maybe I'll do spin-offs in the future. For now, though, I have to finish my other story, "The Runaway Reawakens", and update "My Armor" for a second chapter. **

**Shoot me ideas if you'd like me to write anything special—I'd be happy to take requests. Just PM or say so right in your review.**

**It's been fun, and I hoped you enjoyed the ending! **


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